Corporate Foundations: A Future of Support for Charities
Corporate foundations stand as a source of hope and support for charities in the ever-evolving landscape of corporate social responsibility. These entities, established by businesses to streamline their philanthropic efforts, play a pivotal role in nurturing impactful societal changes.
In this article, we'll explore the role of corporate foundations and the potential for partnership and collaboration for charities, particularly for digital.
Understanding corporate foundations
Philanthropy refers to the act of giving resources, time, or support to promote the well-being of others or to contribute to the greater good. Corporate philanthropy is centred around a company donating time, money, experience, skills and networks in any amount to create a better world by giving back to society. Activities are typically donating to charities, sponsoring or participating in community events, sharing skills and volunteering.
Corporate foundations have been growing both in number and influence as a vehicle for philanthropy. Corporate foundations are independent legal entities, established and funded by commercial companies.
“Foundation” as a word is regulated in the UK as it implies charitability. It doesn’t have to be a charity, but if you are registering with the word “foundation” to Companies House, they will need evidence of charitable purpose i.e. you are a charity, charitable company, or can provide evidence of giving to charities (and you do this on-going).
Foundations operate with their own boards and governance structures and must be set up only to further charitable purposes for the public benefit. They can provide:
a structure and focus for corporate giving
a means of engaging with the voluntary sector
the opportunity to share and apply expertise in an effort to tackle challenging social issues
One of the key strengths of corporate foundations is when there is strategic alignment with the parent company’s objectives. This alignment ensures a consistent approach to philanthropy, reflecting the company’s values and areas of expertise. For example, a technology company might focus its foundation’s efforts on bridging the digital divide, thereby leveraging its resources and expertise for maximum impact.
Building Strong Partnerships
Corporate foundations manage philanthropic activities, including grant-making, charitable partnerships, and community engagement initiatives. Larger corporate foundations can have access to substantial financial resources, ensuring stable and long-term support for charities. This stability is crucial for charities, especially when planning long-term projects or when responding to emergencies and unexpected events.
We are also seeing growth in SMEs and micro businesses establishing foundations, building relationships with charities in their local communities and supporting not only through donations but also expertise and time. It is not necessary to be a huge national business to set-up a foundation - SMEs can do the same.
Challenges and Opportunities for Digital
While corporate foundations are a powerful resource, they face challenges such as maintaining independence from corporate interests and addressing complex social issues that require multi-faceted approaches. However, these challenges also present opportunities for innovation and collaboration, inspiring new models of philanthropy that could reshape the future of charitable giving.
To maintain trust and effectiveness, corporate foundations are increasingly focusing on measuring the impact of their philanthropic activities. By setting clear goals and employing robust evaluation methods, they ensure that their support translates into tangible results. Transparency in operations and funding also strengthens the credibility of both the foundation and its charity partners.
Corporate funding has moved apace since we began Dot Project. Back then some organisations were donating money and staff volunteering time to support charities; though this made vital skills available within the sector, the ad hoc nature of it meant charities rarely felt sustainable change. Meanwhile, CSR activities were predominantly focusing on developing “new” tech (mobile apps, websites, bespoke solutions etc) with very little consideration for the on-going commitment, maintenance and cost.
Corporate Foundations - case studies for digital
Lloyds Bank Foundation Enhance Programme
Through the corporate foundation of Lloyds, the Lloyd Bank Foundation’s Enhance Programme, partners can provide a range of development support, including training, consultancy and mentoring, to help charities become more digitally resilient.
The Fat Beehive Foundation
The Fat Beehive Foundation is a great example of a smaller corporate foundation offering highly specialised small grants of up to £2,500 for websites and digital products for small UK registered charities.
The Vodafone Foundation
The Vodafone Foundation has a specific focus on connectivity, “connecting communities around the world to improve lives”. A Vodafone Foundation current campaign is focused on digital poverty as part of the brand’s pledge to help four million people and businesses cross the digital divide by the end of 2025.
Okta for Good
We are hugely hopeful that the corporate funding landscape is shifting and that more funders will provide longer-term resilience funding to the charity sector. The work we are currently doing with Okta for Good is a good example of how corporate foundations can really achieve this, allowing for a deep, sustained change process. If you’re interested to know more, h
ave a read of our views and experience at Dot Project working with funders.
Conclusion
A growing pressure on the corporate world to address their social responsibility and a rise in philanthropy brings a perfect opportunity to reinforce the importance of the synergy between corporate foundations and the charity sector for addressing digital initiatives and priorities.
There is an urgent need to increase access to funding for digital across the charity sector. Right now it’s desperately hard to come by and the funding that is available is often short-term or restricted to use on a specific project or area of the business. To enable sustainable digital transformation in the social sector, funding needs to be allocated beyond ‘projects’ to actually support organisations’ long-term digital infrastructure and resilience.
At Dot Project, we would love to see corporate foundations from across the tech sector take charge of the crisis in both funding digital, sharing knowledge and expertise across the charity sector. A call to action for both corporate foundations and charities to collaborate for greater impact.
Photo by Colin Watts on Unsplash
